


Linger

by BirchWood



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean lance, Alternate Universe - Royalty, And a good big brother figure to Keith, Cause it's what they both deserve, Galra Keith, Galtean AU, Lance and Allura are siblngs, Lotor is a good guy, M/M, Written for the Prince Klance comic on Instagram, but she's not actually in the story, kid AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-06
Updated: 2019-11-06
Packaged: 2021-01-24 02:27:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21330739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BirchWood/pseuds/BirchWood
Summary: “Prince Keith,” he starts in surprise as the King uses his informal name, and when he looks up he’s met with a kind face. “I also have a son about your age. If it’s alright with you, the two of you can go off and play for a bit?” Keith’s not sure what to do, so he looks up at his father. Zarkon nods, which he copies once facing Alfor again.The King smiles, and looks over his shoulder towards the table. “Lance,” he calls out, “Would you come here please?”
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 258





	Linger

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for [PrinceKlance's](https://www.instagram.com/princeklance/) contest on Instagram! Their comic is super cute and ya'll should check it out, but for now all you need to know is that Keith and Lance are royalty, and this fic is about them meeting for the first time as children.  
Also Zarkon is Keith’s father in the comic, but I think I remember Lotor only being a step-brother? So since I didn't know more about their background I just implied that Keith was adopted into the royal Galra family.

“Stop your slouching. You are a prince, and while we are here, you will be certain to _act_ like it,” his father reprimands. The slow, deep gruffness of his tone echoes around the white halls they wait in. Keith straightens his spine at the scolding, ears tipping flat against his head. He hates these trips, ones where he’s forced to tag along to other planets and sit pretty -sit quietly- while Emperor Zarkon talks politics and negotiations with whoever is in charge. This time they’re on Altea, an old ally to Daibazaal, but Keith has never been here before, and it’s the first time he’s seen Alteans in person. They’re as brightly colored and varied as their planet, and that’s just in the rosey softness of their evening hours when Keith first arrived. He can’t imagine how vibrant their world is under sunlight. He imagines all the colors would give him a headache, so used to the gentle darkness of his home world.

Zarkon turns back around as the Altean guide with a wild orange mustache returns to their side, and announces that the King is ready to greet them. He follows behind his father’s large shadow as they walk down the hall, and a hand suddenly reaches out to scrub playfully at his hair until his ears pop back up. When the hand retreats he follows it with his gaze back to Lotor, who is looking ahead but has a small smile on his face.

He copies his brother and faces forward again, quickly fixing the mess of his hair before it becomes another reason to be chastised. He allows a quick flash of a smile in return. His ears remain pointed up and attentive, and the stone sitting in his belly lifts away. He’s thankful Lotor was able to come along this time. People tended to pay more attention to the beautiful royal heir than some ungrateful runt in need of an attitude adjustment.

They are lead through two large doors by the chatty Altean. He’s surprised to walk into a well-lit sitting room filled with large open windows, cushioned chairs, and an elegant table laden with small snacks and drinks. He peeks around Zarkon’s arm and sees an Altean man with white hair rise from a window seat overlooking the darkening sky.

“Zarkon, dear friend,” the Altean says with a light voice, “It is good to see you. I trust your trip went well?” The stranger is wearing casual clothes, nothing like the fancy attire he was forced into. Zarkon reaches out and he grips arms with the other man.

“Hello, Alfor. Thank you for agreeing to see me on such short notice. I hope you don’t mind that I brought my children along.” He’s suddenly brought into the light as Zarkon steps to the side, and he comes face to face with the Altean. “This is Prince Yorak, although he prefers the name of his human lineage, Keith. He is not very proper.” The last part was muttered quietly, but still easily heard. He feels his ears flatten again, shoulders hunching as he turned to stare at the ground. “And of course you have already met Prince Lotor.”

“A pleasure to see you again, King Alfor.” Lotor says as he steps forward to clasp arms.

“You as well, Lotor.” Alfor responds. “My daughter is not here, otherwise I would ask her to keep you company today, but we were able to dig up some books about the Yzalnir that you asked about last time. They are in the library, and you are more than welcome to peruse them while your father and I talk. Coran?”

The Altean with the orange mustache steps forward. “If you’ll follow me, I will escort you there at once.” He watches in dismay as his brother is led away. If nothing else, he’d been hoping Lotor would have to sit and suffer along with him.

“You should not indulge his whims, Alfor” he hears his father say. King Alfor waves his displeasure away and kneels.

“Prince Keith,” he starts in surprise as the King uses his informal name, and when he looks up he’s met with a kind face. “I also have a son about your age. If it’s alright with you, the two of you can go off and play for a bit?” Keith’s not sure what to do, so he looks up at his father. Zarkon nods, which he copies once facing Alfor again. 

The King smiles, and looks over his shoulder towards the table. “Lance,” he calls out, “Would you come here please?”

Keith looks over King Alfor’s shoulder in surprise, unaware that someone else had been in the room. He doesn’t see anyone, but then movement by the table catches his attention. The tablecloth shifts, lifting up from the bottom, and a pair of eyes peek out from the shadows underneath. He feels locked in a strange standstill as that gaze catches his.

“It’s alright, Lance,” Alfor suddenly says, “These are friends of ours.” The tablecloth moves aside as a stuffed toy is pushed out, followed by small arms and wild brown hair. Keith can’t help but stare as the boy shuffles out from underneath the table. Though he has the same warm brown skin as King Alfor, and the same blue marks on his cheeks, he doesn’t have the matching white hair that he knows even Princess Allura has. He’s the first Altean Keith has come across today that hasn’t had colorful hair.

The boy shuffles forward with his toy clutched to his chest. King Alfor stands up as his son comes to a stop next to him. “Lance, this is my old friend Emperor Zarkon of Daibazaal, and his son Prince Keith.” Lance bows to Zarkon, awkward with his arms full, and turns to look at Keith. Before Keith can say anything, a large hand is nudging him closer to Lance. He stumbles at the sudden movement, causing him to bump into Lance’s arms and squish his toy between them. Keith gasps in embarrassment, but finds he can’t move away when the marks under Lance’s eyes suddenly glow a hazy blue. He feels his face and ears burn self-consciously in return as they stare at one another.

The spell breaks when he hears King Alfor laugh, and he burns brighter as he steps away from the other prince. Lance lifts his toy higher to cover half of his face, and Keith can now see it’s a blue lion. “Why don’t you boys head out and cause some mischief? Zarkon and I have a lot to discuss.” He says this while patting Lance on the shoulder, and with a quick look at Keith the prince walks past and starts heading down the hallway. Keith turns to follow him when Zarkon’s voice stills his movement.

“Behave yourself, Yorak,” His father warns. Keith nods stiffly, before hurrying to catch up to Lance.

When he’s a step behind the Altean prince, he slows down and keeps pace as they walk through the empty halls. It’s a strange feeling to Keith, being able to wander around freely. Back on Daibazaal there were always attendants and servants and governesses watching him closely, so it makes a tickle run across the back of his neck as they turn random corners and walk past other Alteans. He feels like they could be caught in trouble at any moment, but the Alteans they come across merely bow their heads at them respectfully before continuing on their way. No one seems to care that two young boys are meandering about alone. He smiles at the thought, utterly thrilled.

After a while though, the rush of freedom he feels stutters as he looks around. They’ve been walking for quite a bit, and he’s not sure where they are or where they’re going. All the shiny white walls and dark windows look alike, so he focuses back on Lance. The head of the stuffed lion toy peeks at him over Lance’s shoulder, it’s yellow eyes almost seeming to light up. “Umm, your Highness,” he speaks up hesitantly, “where are we going?”

Lance slows downs and turns his head to him. From this close up, Keith can see that the blue of the lion is nearly the same shade as the Prince’s eyes.

“Oh, I was just going to go to the courtyard. That’s where I usually play. There’s a big water fountain, and a lot of cool trees to climb. Oh!” Lance suddenly spins around, smile wide and toothy. “If Taaloz is on duty, he’s one of the guards, if he’s on duty then we can play with his marbles! They’re these little glass spheres, and they’re filled with colors and glitter, and they look like tiny galaxies!” Lance bounces a little on his toes in his excitement, the marks on his face blinking with light again. It’s a much different sight than the shy boy Keith watched crawl out from under a table earlier.

“Yeah,” he responds, “that sounds fun. I’ve never played with marbles before.” Lance squeezes his toy as he smiles, before turning back around and continuing on his way. He goes slow until Keith is at his side, and then they walk side-by-side down the hall. When they turn the next corner he sees large archways leading outside, with a sparkling fountain shooting water into the air. He feels his ears twitch at the sound of droplets hitting the shiny stone wall surrounding the pooling water underneath the fountain, a light tinkling noise like bells. He moves a little faster, excited by the sight when the prince speaks up again.

“You can call me Lance, by the way. You don’t have to say “your Highness” or anything like that. It’s weird when we’re both princes, and the same age.” Lance says resolutely. Keith looks sidelong at him to see Lance with his brows furrowed, pouting. Like this was a serious issue. He almost giggled at the sight.

“Okay, Lance then.” He says. And after a moment, when they reach the archway, he continues, “You can call me Keith.” Lance buries his face into his little lion, but it doesn’t hide the way his smile pushes up his cheeks, or the glowing blinks of his marks.

“Okay,” he mumbles, dimples peeking out behind the toy's blue ear. “Keith.”

**Author's Note:**

> I also made some art for a scene in this fic, but idk how to add an image, so [here's a link](https://www.instagram.com/p/B1wTEK2gBNk/) to it instead~


End file.
